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Instructions
You will start to construct your final research paper due in week 8. The final paper needs to be between 5 to 8 pages. This does not include the title page, abstract or the reference page. This week you will write on your chosen topic and select one scholarly article. If you do not know what a scholarly article is, please ask your instructor.
Instructions
Your first assignment in this course is simple but very important. You need to select a specific area of interest in the field of organizational behavior (from among the options below) that you will use each week (except week 6) as you engage the different methods and processes of research. You will use the topic you select each week (except week 6) throughout the duration of the course, so select a topic (from the list) that you are interested in studying. At the end of the course, you will have a useful collection of documents (and increased knowledge) pertaining to one area of organizational behavior research.
The following topics are typical of the theoretical areas associated with organizational behavior research. Select one topic and use it EVERY WEEK (except week 6) as the subject of your inquiry in the location of pertinent scholarly articles in the APUS Online Library:
Organizational culture and communication
Styles of leadership and your organization
How to change the status quo to a new model
Ethics and organizational culture
Technology, organizational behavior and your organization
Job Satisfaction in your organization
The physical environment in your organization and how it affects organizational behavior
Trends in organizational behavior and how to adapt it in your organization
Other ideas? Contact your instructor
There may be a particular theoretical area of organizational behavior that interests you but is not included on the list above. Send an email to the professor to gain approval to use it prior to completing this assignment.
Remember that you will be using the same selected topic with all the assignments (except week 6) during the eight weeks of the course.
DETAILS for assignment 1:1. Make sure to utilize your topic of interest in the course.
2. Find a scholarly journal article (NOTE: SELECT AN ARTICLE THAT WAS PUBLISHED WITHIN THE LAST TEN YEARS) that presents scholarly research associated with the topic. At this early point in the course, you are asked to “jump right in” and utilize the online library to locate an appropriate scholarly journal article that presents research concerning your topic. 
Note that you may access the APUS Online Library and get help with scholarly research from the school. The APUS Online Library also provides a specific guide for how to research in the library. 
Keep in mind that scholarly research involves solving problems. If your article does not present qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research then you do not have an appropriate research article. Again, for the purposes of this assignment, you want to intentionally find a research article that contains one of the three methods of research: qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods. 
Save the article to your computer to have as a reference and also to attach to the assignment when your paper is completed.
3. Write a short paper (450-600 words) that demonstrates a brief analysis of the scholarly research article you selected. You are to write your APA paper in such a way as to answer the questions/issues below. However, do not include the list on your paper. Instead, let the items guide the content expressed in your paper, which should be in typical paragraph form. Because of the shortness of the assignment, several of the items may be contained in a given paragraph. Be precise and you will be concise. Remember in the first paragraph you need to have a thesis statement. Please remember this is an academic paper and 3rd person is required.
• After a brief introductory sentence. Tell whether the title is appropriate to the focus of the study. (Note: select an actual research study; avoid selecting a lecture on a topic. Research studies involve the collection and analysis of data, whereas lectures on a topic typically discuss a variety of research studies and do not provide the details of data collection and analysis.)
• State the problem. Is the problem clearly stated? Does the problem have a theoretical rational? How significant is the problem studied in the research?
• Is there a review of the literature? If so, is the literature relevant? Summarize (in a couple of sentences) the review of the literature. Be sure to include scholarly support.
• Fully and completely describe the research method that was used to attack and answer the problem. Was the research method used to solve the problem qualitative or quantitative, or both? What instruments were used to answer the problem? Was there a sample used? If so, how was the sample selected?
• State the hypothesis/questions or objectives. Were they stated clearly?
• Are there any probable sources of error that might influence the results of the study? If so, have they been controlled?
• What were the statistical or evaluative (quantitative/qualitative) techniques used to analyze the data? If so, were they appropriate? Note: There are many scholarly articles in appropriate journals that inform your topic. However, not all of them will describe research that evaluates data. Make sure that your selected article includes the evaluation/analysis of data. If you are unsure, this is the time to contact your professor and discuss it.
• Summarize the results. How clearly were the results presented?
• What are the limitations of the study? Are they stated?
• Summarize the conclusion(s). Are the conclusions presented clearly? Does the data support the conclusions? Does the researcher over generalize the findings?
• How can the results and conclusions presented in this study be applied in your particular field of study or work environment?
4. Utilize the APA 7th ed Helps, as necessary, in the Resources area to help you present your brief paper in APA 7th ed format, which means that you need to write a Title Page and References Page separate from the body of the text of the paper (no abstract or author note are needed). Please include headings for each topic discussed after the introduction and before the conclusion section.
On this assignment, you should write the publication information about your article on the References Page (only one reference needed . . . the article you are analyzing) and then also cite the source in the body of the paper whenever you are stating facts from the article. Avoid unsupported statements whenever possible. In many cases, you will write a paragraph of text and insert a citation only once. When you have a direct quote, include the page number of the source, too.  Please limit direct quotations to no more than two per assignment as students are to paraphrase which demonstrates topic mastery.
Some may ask why APA 7th ed is so important. APA 7th ed is the mode of communication of the written word in the business research field. It is the due diligence of graduate management students to excel at APA n7th ed.
5. Make sure to check your Turnitin report to fix any issues with quotes and citations. Your paper will be automatically scanned by Turnitin upon submission. There is no need for a separate login or password. Please be logged in the classroom to access turnitin.
The turnitin score for assignments written in this course should be 24% or below. This means to review your originality score and reduce if higher than the course maximum. An automatic zero will be earned for any turnitin scores of 50% or above. If your score is this high it is indicating improper citations and inclusion of information from other s and d no citation. Please revise and resubmit high originality scores and contact this instructor if there is an issue reducing the score. Normally improper citations and references are the culprit.
Attachments
Student Paper Template APA 7th.docx
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